FF6 poems
by Night Elemental
Summary: The first two are about Terra. I added another one, about Shadow and Relm, but I don't know if its any good. I will probably post more as time passes.
1. In the Ancient Castle

In the Ancient Castle (the Lost One)

She kneels upon the broken ground, the dust

of ages drifting in the silent air

so still and fragile, ghosts of stone and steel

still haunt these halls, these sunlit vaults of time

And tapestries still hang upon the walls,

faded, threadbare remnants, tattered silk

that crumbles at the touch of wind or breath,

pale shadows of a glory held then lost

This place is a cathedral of the dust,

though no god ever walked inside these walls

and only dead men call this land their own

Just dead men and one quiet, living girl

kneeling there beneath the open sky

where walls have fallen in and opened out,

a monument to time and to decay

She does not know what led her to this place,

what wordless call it was that drew her near

She cannot ask the shadows what they say

She cannot calm the drumbeat of her fear

And memory burns cold within her chest,

sharp fragments of a time she has not known,

visions of a life she never lived

the ghosts of days that claim her as their own

She slowly lifts her head and turns away,

steps forward once against the pull of time,

against the wind that shivers through her hair

and whispers tuneless music, bright and clear

She will not let the shadows take her now

She knows she must return the way she came

No place for her within this lake of time,

so still and placid, time for her must flow,

a river, not a pool, and still she knows

that life still calls beyond this broken hall

And so she turns and starts her journey home


	2. Summer's End

Summer's End

---------------

I still remember summer's golden touch

across my face, the ghost of warmth, a dream.

I still remember green and silent days

when I would sail upon a sea of air,

always floating, drifting with the wind.

Its currents bore men and I felt no fear.

---------------------------------------

She asks me now: what is it that I fear?

Her hand in mine, a simple, burning touch.

She smiles, then, and turns to face the wind,

and all the world seems fragile as a dream,

so bright, and no more solid than the air.

But no regrets – these have been happy days.

---------------------------------------------

I used to walk alone in younger days.

The paths were bright; there was no need for fear.

The smell of summer rain would haunt the air

and I remember treasuring the touch

of water falling, gentle as a dream,

the sound of thunder and the rush of wind.

------------------------------------------

Her hair is dancing freely in the wind.

Again she smiles. These are the final days

of summer, love, and soon the earth must dream

beneath a frozen blanket. Do not fear.

It won't be death that steals away my touch.

But still I feel the changes in the air.

-----------------------------------

I wanted, once, to build a ship of air,

and sail alone, far past the western wind.

To free myself from gravity's cold touch

and ride the sky in search of older days.

But now that old ambition is my fear

and I hold tightly to this waking dream.

---------------------------------------

Her eyes are bright and burning with the dream

of summer. Time hangs heavy in the air.

I try to make my breath give voice to fear

but all my words are lost against the wind.

Her fingers brush my cheek. Recalling days

and seasons gone, I lean into her touch.

----------------------------------------

And if this dream is taken by the wind?

The air still holds the taste of other days.

Do not fear. Remember now my touch.

A/N: I wrote the first one a long while ago for a poetry class. I had this very strong image in my head of a girl kneeling in a ruined castle, and I couldn't figure out where it came from. Well, recently I was working collecting all my poems into a portfolio, and it hit me like a brick in the face, only less painful. This was Terra in the Ancient Castle. Or at least inspired by that scene, somewhere in my subconscious. I've been writing fan poetry and I didn't even know it…

            Actually, for the second poem, also an assignment for that class, I did know it… I just didn't tell anyone. Its about Terra and the death of magic, from Setzer's POV, before they knew she could survive without magic. Implied Setzer/Terra romance, I guess, but you don't have to take it like that if you don't want to. BTW, in verse 4, the part "These are… my touch" is her talking. I thought quotes would ruin it.


	3. A Shadow's Lullaby

I'm not really sure what to think of this one... some parts of it work, but some don't and I can't figure out how to fix them. I find rhyme kind of difficult to get right, and I'm terrible at judging my own work, so I can't tell if this is any good or not.

ooo

A Shadow's Lullaby

ooo

You watch me from the edge of light

with colors in your eyes

And though I my face away

you cut through my disguise

You see me, a broken mirror,

riddle with no key,

a mask of silken silence

and a wall of mystery

I know you wonder who I am

I know you wonder why

I know you search for shadows

when the sunset paints the sky

And you, a creature of the sun,

The twilight's rainbow child

The daughter of the morning

With your eyes so bright and wild

An artist, paints and brush in hand,

a trickster with a grin,

a child sleeping softly now

'til morning comes again

And I must keep the vigil

while shadows have their reign,

yet I would hold you in my arms

and keep you safe from pain

And in the silence of the night

when all your dreams run dry

then I would sing you back to sleep,

a shadow's lullaby


End file.
